Seattle Social Worker Murdered By Client As City Wants To Replace Cops With Social Workers - The Police Tribune
Seattle, WA – A Seattle social worker was stabbed to death in her office by a public housing resident who thought he was going to be evicted. The incident occurred just before 11 a.m. on Nov. 23 at the Lewiston-Scargo Apartments near 1st Avenue and Blanchard Street in Belltown, the Seattle Times...
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Seattle, WA – A Seattle social worker was stabbed to death in her office by a public housing resident who thought he was going to be evicted.
The incident occurred just before 11 a.m. on Nov. 23 at the Lewiston-Scargo Apartments near 1st Avenue and Blanchard Street in Belltown, the Seattle Times reported.
Security video from outside the office of 42-year-old Kristin Benson showed a man entered the building carrying grocery bags and then pulled out a large knife, and entered the social worker’s office.
A co-worker heard Benson screaming and ran to help, the Seattle Times reported.
Charging documents said she recognized her colleague’s attacker – 58-year-old Hans Dewey Van-Belkum – who was making “punching/stabbing motions” at Benson who was face down on the floor.
The coworker turned and ran for her office and Van-Belkum chased her with his knife in hand, the Seattle Times reported.
The footage from hallway surveillance cameras showed the armed man fell as he chased the other woman, then attempted to break down her locked office door.
A co-worker heard Benson screaming and ran to help, the Seattle Times reported.
“The murder of Ms. Benson was horrifying, an unarmed victim, trapped in her own office, unable to escape or fight back against the defendant’s rage and blade,” King County Senior Deputy Prosecutor Dan Raz wrote in charging papers. “Equally terrifying was the defendant’s willingness to violently attack others who came to Ms. Benson’s assistance.”
Charging documents said that when he couldn’t get through the other woman’s door, Van-Belkum returned to Benson’s office and attacked her again, the Seattle Times reported.
“The defendant then reentered the victim’s office where he, at a minimum, plunged his knife into the victim’s back,” a Seattle police detective wrote in the charging affidavit.
Police said Van-Belkum punched another staff member repeatedly and took him to the ground before a resident pulled him off, the Seattle Times reported.
Also bonus, the knife was 'military grade' whatever the fuck that means
he man accused of fatally stabbing a caseworker earlier this week at a Belltown apartment building was formally charged Wednesday with first-degree murder in connection with the death of the woman who was stabbed 12 times by a military-grade knife, according to court documents filed in the case.
Hans Dewey Van-Belkum, 58, was being held at the King County Jail in lieu of a $1 million bond in the death of Kristin Benson, who worked at the Scargo-Lewiston apartment building. Her body was found shortly before 11 a.m. on Monday by police and medics who were called to the building, located near 1st Avenue and Blanchard Street, for a report of a stabbing.
In addition to the murder charge, Van-Belkum was also charged with second-degree assault in the case. He was expected to appear in court on Dec. 9 for an arraignment hearing.
According to investigators, the suspect had lived at the apartment building, which provides long-term housing for people who were formerly homeless, for eight years. Police found a note in the suspect's apartment in which he wrote that he believed Benson was trying to have him evicted from the premises.
The man returned to the building Monday morning and went to Benson's office, where he pulled out a KA-BAR knife purchased at a nearby Army/Navy surplus store and attacked the woman, according to court documents. He was captured on a store surveillance camera purchasing the weapon, the documents said.
"The murder of Ms. Benson was horrifying, an unarmed victim, trapped in her own office, unable to escape or fight back against the defendant's rage and blade," prosecutors said in the charging documents filed in the case.
Authorities said the man was willing to "violently attack others" who tried to help the murder victim.
According to court documents, Van-Belkum chased another co-worker of the stabbing victim and beat a third staffer as he was leaving the building. He was found six hours later wearing blood-splattered clothing, investigators said.
Benson had worked for Plymouth Housing, the non-profit agency that owns the building, for nearly eight years, according to her LinkedIn profile.
The court documents say the victim suffered eight stab wounds to her back and four additional puncture wounds to other parts of her body. She was found face down in her office with the knife sticking out of her back, according to the charging documents.
Residents in the building who knew her described her as beloved and highly respected as someone who did her all for residents.
"She loved her job," said Jolene Paris, who lived inside the building. She just wanted to help us."
Others who knew her also shared fond memories of the slain woman.
"She was so kind and loving and with open arms all the time," friend Jessie Parry said. "She was never afraid and always approached people with kindness."
